Homeland Security urged to set up shop at NFARS

Members
of Western New York's Congressional delegation are pressing the Department of
Homeland Security to establish missions at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve
Station.

In a
letter to the acting secretary of DHS, Congressmen Chris Collins and Brian Higgins,
joined U.S. sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer in urging the
department to consider NFARS as a regional location for several DHS missions,
including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customers and Border Protection,
and certain operations of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The
delegation stressed the strategic advantages of the NFARS, including the secure
nature of the facility and the fact that the closest Coast Guard response team
is currently based in Detroit. Adding Coast Guard helicopters and other
critical safety equipment to the NFARS would be a benefit to both DHS and the
surrounding region, they said.

The
letter urges DHS leadership to consider the cost effectiveness of such a move.
While DHS studies locations for regional operations in the northeast, the
delegation believes the immediate and appropriate space available at the NFARS
makes the location an ideal fit for DHS and American taxpayers.

"The
Western New York delegation is committed to working together to ensure that the
NFARS remains a critical military installation and a significant source of
employment and economic activity for Western New York," said Collins. "Locating
regional DHS missions at the NFARS would be a win for both the federal
government and our local community."

"The
Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station plays a critical role in our community and
our country's national security," said Higgins. "We need to position the base
for longevity and strength for generations to come."

"Bringing
a Homeland Security mission to Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station would help the
agency leverage the major assets we have right on site, including the air
field, firing range and medical clinic," said Gillibrand, a member of the
Senate Armed Services Committee. "This is a highly cost-effective method that
would give the agency access to these resources it wouldn't otherwise have -
and it's a step we should take to keep this economic engine for Western New
York."

"Niagara Falls Reserve Station is ideally suited by its geography,
resources, and experience for Department of Homeland Security missions," said
Schumer. "The feds should take advantage of Niagara Falls existing capacity and
proximity to Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the international border with Canada
by locating regional DHS missions at NFARS, where they could conduct border
security as well as search and rescue missions. A DHS station at NFARS will
help to build synergies and opportunities for collaboration between various
federal agencies and local research partners, and I will work with my
colleagues from Western New York to see this important plan come to fruition."

NFARS is currently home to the 914th Airlift Wing of the U.S. Air Force
Reserve and the 107th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard. The
Niagara Military Affairs Council has been working with local and Congressional
leaders to find new missions for the base to ensure that it won't fall victim
to any future base closings.